Snowed In
by Ninjazz
Summary: The gang is returning from a weekend-long trip, but get stuck in an unexpected blizzard. One thing leads to another.  One of those 'Raccoon City incident never happened' fics.
1. Stalled

****Sorry to say it's not a new chapter to a pre-existing fic...I'm hoping to finish those soon enough. Haven't really been writing lately, but slowly making my way back! So, yep, here's yet another one! Idea hit me from, you know, LIVING IN CANADA! XD****

Sunday night, ten-thirty, exhausted from a long weekend, and driving through a blizzard...fun?

"Drinking milkshake made entirely of spoiled ingredients," said Jill.

"Uh-huh," said Chris.

Jill sighed. She knew he was getting annoyed, but she was too so he'd have to suffer right along. They'd been on the road for nearly five hours, having done only one stop for gas. It was late, she was tired, and the car was starting to feel cramped. They'd taken two vehicles, but even though she was alone with Chris in her Jeep, it felt crowded. A few hours ago, she'd decided to keep occupied by naming various things she'd rather be doing.

"How about...giving a bath to a rabid alley cat?" she said.

"I get your point, Jill," said Chris.

"I know," she said.

"So why are you still going? It got annoying about two hours ago."

"Meaning it got interesting for me two hours ago."  
>"...You're doing it on purpose?" he asked, glaring at her.<p>

Jill grinned and shrugged. "Maybe," she said. She concentrated on the road ahead, hardly seeing anything but snow. "I can barely see the road...are you sure we shouldn't just stop somewhere for the night?" she asked.

"Jill, if we stop, the storm's just gonna get worse and we won't be able to get anywhere tomorrow, even in the daylight," said Chris.

She sighed and glanced at her rear-view mirror. "But I can't see Leon's car, either," she said. She gently tapped the brakes twice, waited a second, and tapped them again. Soon after, lights flashed into her mirror. They'd planned it as a signal, in case one lost visual of the other. "Well, they're still back there, but this is getting dangerous," she said.

Chris turned to look out the back window, and saw the other car's lights slowly appear into view. As reassured as he was, Jill had a good point. "Yeah...I guess you're right," he said.

"As usual."  
>"Don't flatter yourself," said Chris. He turned back and pulled out his radio. He hit the call button and a second later, a crackled voice came through.<p>

"Yeah yeah, we see you," said Claire.

"I know, but Jill's suggesting we stop somewhere for the night, wait out the blizzard. What do you guys think?" he asked.

Crackling, crackling, then "...inks it's a good...dea but where can we st...f we can't see signs?"

Jill sighed. "The radios are barely transmitting, and they're right behind us...That's bad," she said.

"I know," Chris said. He brought up the radio. "Claire, tell Leon to stay close to us. We'll slow down and stick to the right of the road. I'll keep a close eye on the side for any signs or lights, and you do the same. First one to spot something alerts the other, got it?"

Crackling, then "...barely got any of that."

"Follow us and watch the side for signs or lights," he repeated.

Two seconds of crackling, then "...did not copy."

Chris' grip tightened on his radio. He hit the button, but noticed Jill was grinning. "What?" he asked her.

"She's making that crackling with a candy wrapper, you know that right?" said Jill.

"...Are you serious?"

"Yep. You're so simple, Chris," she said.

He hit the button on his radio. "Tell Leon to stop," he said, then released the button. "Jill, stop the car."

Jill pulled over carefully, and saw that Leon had done the same behind her. Chris pulled his coat on, zipped it up, and got out of the car.

He pulled his gloves on, scraped snow off the ground to make a snowball, thankful it wasn't too sticky, and walked towards the other car with the snow hiding behind his back. He walked to the passenger window and tapped on it. "Claire," he said. The window rolled down slowly, and he leaned down to look his sister in the eye.

"What happened? Why did we stop?" she asked.

Chris quickly reached in and shoved the snowball in her face, then pulled her hat down over it. He turned and ran back to the Jeep, jumped in his seat and slammed the door. "Go!" he said.

Jill blinked, confused, and started driving slowly. "What did you do?" she asked.

The radio crackled. "CHRIS! STOP!"

He laughed, looking to Jill. "Pissed her off," he said.

Jill looked in the rear-view mirror. "Probably not as much as you'd think," she said.

"What do you mean?"  
>"Well they aren't right behind us, so she's not in a hurry to get payback. What exactly did you do?" asked Jill.<p>

Chris looked back. "Shoved snow in her face..." He sighed and looked back to Jill. "Why wouldn't she make him step on it to catch us?" he asked.

"Because it would be stupid and dangerous?" said Jill.

"Yeah, but he'd at least follow close or flash his lights," said Chris. He took the radio and hit the button. "Claire, did you melt?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"Good one..." Jill said sarcastically.

His smile faded as the radio remained silent. "Claire, this isn't funny, what are you guys doing?" he said.

Jill slowly pulled over and looked in the mirror. "Maybe they're getting you back?" she suggested.

Chris opened the door and got out. He started walking back down the road, and Jill ran out after him, locking the Jeep doors for some reason. "Hey, wait up!" she called.

"I'm going to check, this doesn't feel right," Chris said.

Jill zipped her coat and stuffed her hands in her pockets, chasing after him. She was stumbling around in the snow, but kept her balance. "Think they stalled?" she asked.

"Yeah, Leon's car is a piece of shit."

"It's brand new, Chris."  
>Chris spotted the headlights and stopped. "A brand new piece of shit," he said.<p>

The passenger door opened and Claire jumped out, wiping her face with the sleeve of her sweater. Chris sighed and walked over with Jill. "Something wrong with the car?" he asked.

She looked up at the sound of his voice and glared. "Somethin' wrong with you," she said. "What the hell was that about?"

"It was for making me repeat myself for nothing over the radio," said Chris.

"...That so didn't call for shoving a bunch of snow in my face!" said Claire.

"Guys, come on, main issue here," said Jill. She looked over at Leon as he got out of the car.

"Piece of crap stalled," he said.

"Yeah, we figured as much," said Chris. He slightly kicked the front bumper and grinned. "Not the best machine ever built, huh?"

"Shut up, it's a great car...just not built for heavy snow, I guess," said Leon.


	2. Ditched

Claire zipped up her hoodie and stuck her hands in the front pocket. "So what do we do now? We can't just wait for it to start again, it could take forever!" she said.

"Well first off, you should put on your coat," said Chris, "and then we can just jump-start the car with the Jeep."

Leon nodded and walked around to the trunk. He opened it and started looking through the stuff to find the jumper cables. Jill turned to Chris and sighed. "I guess I'll go turn the Jeep around," she said.

Chris nodded. "Be careful, it's the only car we have left," he said, grinning slightly.

"We still have two cars...you're so negative," she said. She turned and headed back towards the Jeep, which was entirely lost in the snow.

Chris sighed and looked back to Leon's car. "Claire, seriously, put on your coat," he said.

"I would, but when the car starts again I'll be super warm, and it took really long to get used to the temperature in there," she said.

"But you're not in there, you're out here," said Chris.

"I'll be in there in no time."  
>"Stop being stubborn."<br>"No."  
>Chris sighed. He knew any argument against his sister would end up with him losing. "Fine, but when you start freezing, don't come crying to me," he said.<p>

Claire shook her head and went to the back to help Leon. Chris turned at the sound of the Jeep's engine starting up, and smiled. "Good old reliable Jill," he said.

The Jeep started backing up and turning, roaring as the engine fought the cold weather. The tires gripped the snow without a problem, and in no time the front was almost pointing right at Chris. He smiled and turned to Claire and Leon. "See Leon, that's what you need...a Jeep," he said.

"Oh shit!" yelled Claire, watching past Chris' shoulder. He turned quickly and saw the front of the Jeep start to point upwards. It kept angling and backing away and finally stopped with a loud 'thud'. In a matter of seconds, the whole vehicle was nearly standing completely upright.

Without hesitating, Chris ran for it, calling out for Jill. The driver-side window rolled down and she stuck her head out. "Shit...I think I'm stuck," she said.

Chris stopped running when he reached her. "Must be a ditch," he said. "Can you get out?"

Jill opened her door and looked down. She slid down and landed in a deep pile of snow. "Shit...That's a lot of snow," she said. She looked up and took Chris' offered hand, pulling herself out of the ditch. "Sorry," she said.

"As long as you're okay," said Chris. He turned and looked at Leon and Claire, who'd followed him to the Jeep.

"Now what?" Claire asked.

Chris looked at Leon. "Can the jumper cables still reach all the way back to your car?" he asked.

"I doubt they'll reach this far...from home," said Leon.

"Huh?"  
>"I forgot them."<br>"...I knew there was a reason I hated you, Leon."

The boy bowed his head. "Sorry," he said, "I guess I left them by the garage door."

Chris looked back to Jill. "Do you have cables?" he asked, hopeful.

She sighed. "I don't even have a jack."

"So we're screwed?" Claire said.

"No, we just need to come up with a good idea," Chris said.

Leon snapped his fingers. "We could call a tow-truck!" he said. He pulled his cell phone out and checked the screen. "...Battery's dead."

"Mine lost signal about half an hour ago," Claire said.

"I don't have mine," Chris said. He heard laughing and turned to Jill. "What's so funny?" he asked.

"I'm the only one with a cell phone that has a fully-charged battery, which lasts about a week, and receives signal from pretty much anywhere..." she said.

"And that's funny because...?"

"It's in the Jeep's trunk."

"..."  
>"Yep."<p>

Chris took in a deep breath and shut his eyes.

"Go ahead, Chris, nobody can hear you," Claire said, knowing her brother's actions all too well.

Chris looked up and yelled as loud as he could. (I won't type what he yelled, since even I have a vulgarity-limit, but just assume is something really, REALLY bad.)

Jill rolled her eyes and looked back to the Jeep. "I can still get it out, but it'll take some digging. I heard the back window break against something, so I'm sure the trunk is loaded with snow now," she said.

"Digging through snow and broken glass...sounds like something worth avoiding," said Claire.

"We may not have a choice," said Jill.

"I'll do it, it's my fault for forgetting the cables," said Leon.

Chris grinned. "I was actually planning on volunteering you for having the crappy car to begin with, but that works," he said.

Claire smacked his arm and shoved her hands back in her pocket. "Ass," she said.

"I'm kidding, I'll help too," said Chris.

"Yeah you will."  
>"If you put on your coat," he added.<p>

Claire wanted to argue, but she was freezing. She had planned on getting her coat anyways, so this way she'd have Chris doing something for it. "Okay, fine..." she said. She turned and headed back to Leon's car.

"Hah, I win for once!" said Chris. He looked back to Jill and smiled. "We'll get that phone out in no time," he said.

"Don't cut yourself, it'll add on to our problems," she said, smiling back.

"Hah hah..." Chris walked to the Jeep and pulled himself up with the edge of the frame. He got his gloves from the passenger seat and carefully climbed to the back seat, where he could easily reach over to access the trunk. He heard Leon climb in after him and moved over to make room on the back seat.


	3. Family Feud

Jill turned to Claire as she approached. "That's what you call a coat?" she asked.

Claire raised a brow. "It's better than just a sweater," she said.

"It's a vest, Claire...it doesn't even have sleeves," Jill said.

"It has a hood, and some pockets."  
>"It's not a coat!"<p>

"No, because coats get way too warm and then you're stuck with them."

Jill rubbed her eyes. She felt like she was dealing with a child. "You and your brother are way too much alike," she said.  
>"I know, Chris is so stubborn," said Claire, looking to the Jeep.<p>

"You're both stubborn!"

"Yeah, but I'm pretty."

"GAAAH!" Jill yelled in frustration. She reached down, formed a snowball, and threw it at Claire. They both started laughing, until Chris looked out the back window.

"Can't find it," he said.

"I know," Jill said.

Chris blinked. "How do you know?"

She reached in her pocket and pulled out the phone. "Because I've only just remembered that I had it on me the whole time."

"...Only JUST remembered?" Chris asked.

Jill grinned. "Well, okay, about five minutes ago," she said. Claire burst out laughing again, but Chris was entirely un-amused.

"You know it's freezing in here, right?" he said.

"It does look pretty chilly," said Jill. "Come on out, I'll call the towing company."

"Do you have their number?" asked Claire, trying to hold back her laugh but failing.

"Yes, Claire, I have their number...Because unlike the rest of you, I'm responsible," Jill said.

Claire grinned. "You don't have their number."

"Of course I don't."

"Great," said Claire. She pulled the hood over her head and stuck her hands into the vest pockets. "So, we call someone who can either get us or find us a number?" she suggested.

Jill nodded. "I'm calling Rebecca, she knows everything," she said.

The guys jumped out of the Jeep and walked over. "Nice coat," Chris said.

"You like it? It was on sale," she said.

"I don't like it. It looks useless," said Chris.

"Well that sucks...you bought it," Claire said.

"When was this?"

"That time I borrowed your credit card for groceries."  
>Leon sighed. "I'm getting the feeling our situation is just getting worse, now wouldn't be a good time for you guys to have one of those famous arguments," he said.<p>

Chris and Claire both turned to face him. "Famous arguments?" asked Chris.

"You know...the sibling rivalry that shows its ugly head at the worst possible moments?" said Leon.

Jill turned away, trying to hear the phone better. Chris glared at Leon. "We do not have rivalry arguments," he said.

"Sure you do...you start it by either pointing out an immature flaw she's made, or she starts it by making fun of your constant need to be over-protective," said Leon.

"Are you calling me immature?" asked Claire.

"No, I'm just saying that's usually how it goes, it's common in a lot of siblings," he said.

"I do not constantly NEED to be over-protective," said Chris.

"Yeah, you do," said Claire.

Chris turned to face her. "No, I just constantly HAVE to be...Someone has to keep an eye on you," he said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked.

"Oh come on...I know you're super smart and independent, but you have your moments," he said.

"Such as...?"

"Well, your lack of coat, for once," Chris said, flicking her hood.

She hit his hand away. "Okay, mister 'responsible'...When I asked you how the weather would be, did you once mention the word 'blizzard' or 'snow-storm'? No. You said it would be clear and sunny all weekend, and to pack lightly. Well, big-shot, this is how I pack lightly," she said.

"Guys, forget I said anything," said Leon, suddenly feeling like the temperature dropped even lower.

Chris shook his head and turned, walking away towards the other side of the road. "It's not like I could know! The forecast never called for a blizzard, so I just passed on the information I got. The rest of us brought coats and stuff IN CASE something happened. I mean, come on! You don't even have gloves!" he said.

"Why would I need gloves? I'm not driving," said Claire, walking towards him.

"If you had been driving, maybe you would've had a better car and NONE OF THIS SHIT WOULD'VE HAPPENED!" yelled Chris.

"STOP YELLING!" Claire yelled back.

Leon ran over, shaking his head. "Guys seriously, it's nothing to fight about! Let's just go back to hating me for my shitty car, and after someone sends a tow-truck we can all sit at Starbucks and laugh about it. How's that sound?" he said. He'd never been in such an awkward situation.

Jill put her phone away and looked over to them. "Christ, it's impossible to hear anything with you guys yelling so much! What the hell's going on?" she asked.

"Chris is a dick," Claire said.

"I'm not a dick, you're just irresponsible," Chris said.

Jill rolled her eyes once again. "Are they fighting again?" she asked Leon. He nodded, and she grinned. "Well, if anyone cares, I got a hold of Rebecca. She gave me the number for a local tow-truck, and they know where we are. The only problem is they can't get to us for about an hour or two. How good is your heater, Leon?"

"It'll last long enough," he said.

"Good. Let's just go sit in your car and wait for the truck. The Jeep's lights can stay on, even if it drains the battery...it'll give them a sort of beacon," Jill said.

Chris sighed. "I'm too tired, let's just call it even?" he said, looking to Claire.

"Fine by me," she said.

"Don't have to sound so mad about it," added Chris.

Claire shrugged. "I'm not mad," she said.

"You are."

"If you say so."

Leon stood by her side. "Come on, let's all go warm up in the car. We can pig out on chocolate bars for the next hour," he said. She nodded, and they started walking.

Chris scooped up some snow and formed a snowball. "Hey, Kennedy," he said.

"What?" Leon asked, looking back.

"I owe you this!" Chris said, throwing the snow in his face.

Leon stumbled back, slipping in the snow, and grabbed Claire's arm for support. Both of them just disappeared, leaving Chris and Jill standing there highly confused.


	4. Sticking Together

"Where'd they go?" asked Jill.

Chris dropped to his knees and looked down. The road was apparently on top of a cliff, and they'd both gone over the side. "Claire! Leon!" he called out.

"I hope they're okay," Jill said. "I don't hear water though, so there's no river or anything."  
>"How can you be sure?" Chris asked, panicked. He looked back down. "Hello! Can you guys hear me?"<p>

The lack of response scared him even more. He got up and ran to the Jeep, climbed in, and jumped back out. He then ran to Leon's car, reached in, and ran back to Jill. He handed her a radio, and stuck the other in his pocket. "I'm going down there, I'll call you on the radio to let you know what's going on," he said.

"No way! Chris, we have no idea how steep that cliff is or what's at the bottom," Jill said.  
>"I know what's at the bottom. Claire's at the bottom, and I'm going down there. Are you seriously trying to stop me?" he asked.<p>

Jill could see the worry in his eyes and sighed. "No, I know I can't stop you...Just, be careful, okay?" she said. "Keep the radio on and do NOT lose it. If I don't hear from you in exactly one minute, I'm going down after you."

Chris nodded and sat on the edge of the cliff. He made sure his coat was zipped all the way up, took a deep breath and let himself slide down, using his feet to control his speed. It wasn't very steep, but the snow made it impossible to stop sliding.  
>His foot bumped against something, causing him to stop sliding. He looked down and saw his foot right against Leon's leg. "Hey, are you guys okay?" he asked.<p>

Claire was next to Leon, examining his other foot. "I think he sprained it," she said. She barely touched it, and Leon flinched.

"Careful!" he said. He looked at Chris and glared. "Here's a good idea, let's throw snowballs at each other on the side of a cliff...genius."

"Hey, it was an accident! Besides, it's not like I knew the cliff was there," said Chris.

"It was still pretty stupid," Claire said.

Chris looked at her. "Teaming up on me now?" he asked.

"Got that right," she said.

Before Chris could reply, the radio crackled. "Chris, what's going on down there?" said Jill.

He brought the radio up. "I found them, everything's fine," he said.

"Like hell it is!" Claire said. She took the radio out of his hand and hit the button. "He's lying, Jill. Leon can't move his foot, I think it's sprained," she said.

"Oh shit...Can he stand?" asked Jill.

Leon shook his head, and Claire hit the button. "No, he can't. Do we have a rope or anything?" she asked.

"I don't think so. Can you guys climb up the cliff?"

Claire looked at the cliff, barely seeing it through the falling snow. "Don't think so, it's pretty steep and icy," she said. She looked back to her brother. "Maybe Chris can carry him up," she said.

"No way," protested Chris.

"I don't want his help," said Leon.

Without needing to get up, Claire kicked Chris and simultaneously smacked Leon on the arm. "Both of you, stop whining," she said. She brought the radio up again. "I have an idea, Jill. Why don't you find a big branch or something and help me up the cliff, and we'll leave the guys down here until they grow a set," she said.

Jill laughed over the radio. "Sounds like a plan. Leave them out to the wolves," she said.

Claire blinked. "Wolves?" she asked.

Chris and Leon stared at her, then to the woods right by the cliff. "She's joking, right?" said Chris.

"Hope so," said Leon.

The radio crackled. "Hang on, I found a rope in the trunk of Leon's car. I can tie the other end to the Jeep and pull you guys out!" she said.

Claire sighed. "Jill," she said.

"Yeah?" said Jill over the radio.

"Your Jeep's in a ditch."

"...Right. Well maybe I can-"  
>"Leon's car stalled," said Claire.<p>

"...Right. Well, shit. I can maybe pull one of you up at a time?" said Jill.

Chris took the radio back from Claire, who tried to fight him for it but lost. "I think that's the best idea," he said into the radio.

"Alright, I'll have the rope down in a minute," said Jill.

Chris put the radio in his coat pocket and sighed. "Well, as much as I hate to say it," he said.

"No. Leon's going first, not you," Claire said.

"That's what I was gonna say..."

"Liar."

"Guys, come on..." Leon said. "It's not like I'll be going anywhere else once I'm up there. Claire should go first."

An ice-scraper attached to a rope bumped Chris on the shoulder. He grabbed it and looked up, confused, and took out the radio. "Jill, why did you send us an ice-scraper?" he asked.

"It's to anchor the rope down...Wanted to make sure it got to you guys. If you don't like it, I can take it back..." Jill said.

"No no, it's cool. We're sending Leon up first," said Chris. He held the rope out to Leon and grinned. "Ladies first," he said.

"Screw you," said Leon. He took the rope and wrapped it around himself, then nodded. "Good to go."

Chris nodded back and brought the radio up. "Okay Jill, he's ready," he said.

"Got it," said Jill.

Chris put the radio down and grabbed the rope. "I hope this thing's strong enough," he said. He tugged on it, and suddenly got a bunch of slack. He blinked and looked up, but before he could even think he was tackled to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL!" Jill shouted.

Chris looked up and saw that she was the one who'd tackled him. "Um...hey?" he said.

"WHY DID YOU PULL THE FREAKING ROPE?" she asked, untying the rope from around her waist.  
>"I was...testing to see if it was strong enough..." Chris said. "I didn't think you'd tie it around yourself! I mean, come on!"<p>

"What else was I supposed to tie it to!" Jill asked. She got up, threw the rope at him, and sighed.

Leon watched her. "So...there's no other way up the cliff?" he asked.

Jill looked at him and nodded. "Sorry, guys," she said.

Claire shook her head. "And Jill came tumbling after..."


End file.
